The Power of Strong – Reprint of the John Mahoney Road Bike Action Article

This article is about cycling, family, friends, love, courage and my friend John Mahoney. I met John through my good friend Peter Defty at the Bob Roll Moab Cycling Conference where I was scheduled to speak. From the moment I met John, I knew he was a special person. You are immediately moved by his positive attitude and courage. Afflicted with Brain Cancer several years earlier, he managed to battle his cancer by changing his life in ways few of us are willing to do. The first thing I could see about John was that he met you with a genuine curiosity and honest demeanor that took you aback. John deeply enjoyed riding bicycles and incorporated his riding into his treatment plan. John’s cancer was a rare type of Anaplastic Astrocytoma that was said to be extremely aggressive and he was given 3 months. He completed chemotherapy, radiation, and an awake surgical excision at Johns Hopkins University. After this traditional treatment, he asked, what’s next, this can’t be all? He refused to sit back, he had to be in control of his destiny. He read everything he could and met with the smartest people he could find. He adhered to a strict lifestyle changes such as a specific ketogenic diet which helped control his potential of having seizures as well kept the cancer from proliferating. John was the type of guy to check his ketone and glucose levels several times a day. He would go on multiple day fasts, cycle with salt and water, and perform meditation. I taught him breathing exercises that involved breath holds while using the Mighty Sat Pulse Oximeter. He would do these if he felt a seizure coming on, and he reported that they helped him immensely. John was an intense family man and dedicated to his wife, who helped him through every step of his treatment and maintenance of his cancer. John lived each day to the fullest and loved to talk with people. His genuine manner in which he discussed topics was infectious. He even had another child without hesitation during his cancer. Simply put, John loved life. In 2018, John passed from his cancer, 8 years after the diagnosis. This article is about John and what he represented in this life. There are many positive life affirming messages in this article that are not to be forgotten.